Radcliffe to play Weird Al in biopic
‘This is the role future generations will remember him for,’ parody songwriter quips
Geek rock pioneer ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic – not Jewish – will at last be getting the full Amadeus (Shamadeus?) treatment in an upcoming biopic for Roku.
Playing the legendary parody songwriter will be Daniel Radcliffe – definitely Jewish – who is, of course, best known for playing Harry Potter, but has also taken many quirky, funny roles since.
As Yankovic himself just stated, “I have no doubt whatsoever that this is the role future generations will remember him for.”
According to the press release from Roku, which we are sure is entirely trustworthy and accurate, the movie promises “to hold nothing back” as it chronicles Yankovic’s life “from his meteoric rise to fame … to his torrid celebrity love affairs and famously depraved lifestyle”.
Co-writing with Yankovic is Brooklyn Nine-Nine writer Eric Appel.
We are solemnly obliged to reiterate at this point that Yankovic is not himself Jewish, a fact which comedian Alex Edelman tweeted “is itself antisemitic”, although his work over the years has drawn quite a bit of inspiration from Jewish culture. We are talking about the writer of Pretty Fly For A Rabbi, after all. And we can still claim Radcliffe. We can and we will.
The movie is being produced by Funny Or Die and Tango, with production set to begin next month.
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